I'm foster parenting our neighbor's chicken and have been for almost 4 months. Today I saw her take her first dirt bath! It absolutely slayed me! I was laughing so hard- Henrietta is such a funny chicken anyway and the sounds she was making and the way she flipped dirt everywhere just cracked me up.
...Then my first time chicken parent brain kicked in and I started wondering and quite possibly over-thinking.... is there some reason that she's itchy? Almost 4 months of hanging out with her and I've never seen her take a dirt bath before now...Might we have mites? My first look was at the base of her feathers on her skin and I didn't see anything that looked like it might be moving or biting. My next look was around the coop and I did see what looked like a few chiggers cruising around. Not many, I counted less than a dozen in 3-4 minutes of looking (and killed them all..). It has been unseasonably warm here in North Texas today- in the high 60's but we've already had freezing temps and that usually makes the chiggers here into ex-chiggers. Am I just waaayyyy over thinking the whole thing? Might it be something besides chiggers? Henrietta is eating and drinking well, has good energy and has been her usual self. Is there any link between chickens having dirt baths and itchy biting things? Boy, I tell ya, being a first time chicken mom sure reminds me of being a first time human baby mom- lol! And of course, just thinking about chiggers makes me feel itchy.
...Then my first time chicken parent brain kicked in and I started wondering and quite possibly over-thinking.... is there some reason that she's itchy? Almost 4 months of hanging out with her and I've never seen her take a dirt bath before now...Might we have mites? My first look was at the base of her feathers on her skin and I didn't see anything that looked like it might be moving or biting. My next look was around the coop and I did see what looked like a few chiggers cruising around. Not many, I counted less than a dozen in 3-4 minutes of looking (and killed them all..). It has been unseasonably warm here in North Texas today- in the high 60's but we've already had freezing temps and that usually makes the chiggers here into ex-chiggers. Am I just waaayyyy over thinking the whole thing? Might it be something besides chiggers? Henrietta is eating and drinking well, has good energy and has been her usual self. Is there any link between chickens having dirt baths and itchy biting things? Boy, I tell ya, being a first time chicken mom sure reminds me of being a first time human baby mom- lol! And of course, just thinking about chiggers makes me feel itchy.
